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Offer-to-Purchase Form Primary Focus Of 2002-03 Update Course

The primary focus of the mandatory 2002-2003 Real Estate Update Course will be how to correctly complete the newly revised standard Offer to Purchase and Contract form which will be available July 1, 2002.  This form which, along with various standardized form addenda, is jointly approved by the North Carolina Association of REALTORS® and the North Carolina Bar Association, and is used in a vast majority of residential sales transactions in the state.

The Real Estate Commission continues to find that many licensees do not have a good understanding of the provisions in the standard sales contract form and addenda, and that improper use and completion of these forms is still very commonplace.  To help address this problem, nearly three hours of the four-hour course will be devoted to the revised Offer to Purchase and Contract form and the guidelines for use and completion of the form.  Instruction will involve a detailed line-by-line form review, noting common mistakes and pitfalls to avoid.  Related relevant form addenda, such as the Contingent Sale Addendum, New Construction Addendum, Additional Provisions Addendum and others, will be included in the written materials and discussed in class as time permits.

The Real Estate Update course also will briefly summarize significant changes in Commission rules that are scheduled to become effective September 1, 2002.  Another short segment of the course will acquaint licensees with the Commission’s revised website, the wealth of information which can be found there, and functions licensees can perform online, such as license renewal and verification of license status.  Lastly, there will be a brief discussion of the competence level expected of licensees who engage in the specialized areas of commercial brokerage and property management, with emphasis on the importance of obtaining additional education in order to be competent to practice in these specialty areas.

This article came from the June 2002-Vol33-1 edition of the bulletin.